If you think it has been cold in Nashville this week then you should give Vanessa Medina a call. On the day she talked with Lipscombsports.com it was a minus-21 degrees in Minneapolis at Target Field. The previous week the mercury plunged to 45-below zero. Not exactly baseball weather but as an employee for the Minnesota Twins it is always baseball season especially in the winter when sales of season tickets and group outings are so important.

What years did you play softball at Lipscomb? Who were your coaches?

"I played for Lipscomb from 2008 through 2012. Kristin Ryman was my head coach."

What was your major?

"I majored in public relations. I graduated in December of 2012."

Why did you decide to come to Lipscomb from Bakersfield, Calif.?

"I was going to stay at home and go somewhere to school. It all happened so quickly. I didn't have a chance to meet any players when I visited. I liked the way the coaches presented themselves. I liked the fact that Lipscomb was a small school in a big city.

"Nashville drew me in. The atmosphere of the school drew me in.

"I liked the smaller class sizes. I liked that the professors knew my name and when I was traveling for softball.”

What is your fondest athletic memory at Lipscomb?

"In 2010 when we won the Atlantic Sun Championship we danced to the song `Baby' by Justin Bieber on the field at Stetson after the game was over. We had a little dance crew going.

“We had been practicing it. I think Camille Cross started dancing to the song on the bus. I am 99 percent sure she started it.

"I was injured. I had the video camera and was taking pictures during warm-ups. They were warming up and that song came on. They were dancing on the field before the game."

Who had the biggest influence on you during your athletic career at Lipscomb? How?

"That would be assistant coach Lexi Myers. We had a really good bond. I still talk with her now. We go to lunch when I am in Nashville. I enjoy her company. I always knew where I stood with her. I always knew what I needed to work on.

"I don't think she was too fond of me my freshman year, but as I matured a little bit we got along really well."

What is your fondest non-athletic memory from your time at Lipscomb?

"My favorite memory was when I got baptized along with Kristen Sturdivant and Ashley Anderson at Woodmont Church of Christ. That happened my senior year. That is something I will never forget.

"I had been thinking about it for a while. One night at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting Brent High (assistant athletic director for spiritual formation) was sharing the Gospel with us. I got a feeling in my heart. It was just pounding. I knew I would have hated myself if I had walked out of that meeting without saying anything.

"He gave us a day to learn more, think about it and commit to what we were doing. We were baptized a couple of days later."

What is the most valuable thing you gained or learned from your time at Lipscomb?

"About how to welcome people. We all come from different walks of life. There was a variety of people there. There were people walking around barefooted. There were very conservative people.

"I learned tolerance. It was very welcoming there. If I could take anything away from Lipscomb it would be that.

"Now that I work in sales I deal with the whole spectrum of people."

Who was your favorite professor? Why?

"Definitely Dr. Mark McGee. He was huge in my college career. He helped me with everything from school to life. I look to him as a mentor. I always have taken his advice to heart.

"I would also have to say Alan Griggs and Dr. Jimmy McCollum. They were both great too.

"Mr. Griggs has such a dry sense of humor. I just love that guy. We send emails. He tweets at me. I can go to his office now and I can literally talk with him for hours. He still gives me a hard time.

"Dr. McCollum is so kind. I don't think he has ever been negative about anything. Even if I turned in the worst piece of homework he was always so positive. He was so encouraging."

Where do you live now?

"I live in Minneapolis, Minn. I never thought about the cold weather before I moved here. Negative degrees now all mean the same to me whether it is a negative three or a negative 45."

Who is your employer? What is your occupation? What does your position entail?

"I am employed by the Minnesota Twins. I had my one-year anniversary Jan. 4. I am a new business development representative.

"I contact people to get them out to the ball games. I deal with season tickets and group outings. I want to make sure our fans and our customers enjoy their time when they are out here.

"This was the No. 1 team I wanted to work for. This is the only team I wanted to work for. It is kind of crazy and surreal that it all worked out after I graduated. I found out four days before graduation that I had the job. Two weeks after graduation I was in Minneapolis.

"The organization drew me here. They are very organized and put together. It is one of those places that you see that you want to work for. Our players exemplify that and our front office certainly does. It is a great place to work. I would really miss the people here if I ever left.”

Tell us about your family.

"My parents are Norma and Ernie. I have a brother, Timmy; and a sister, Valerie. I have two dogs, Dallas, a German Shepherd; and Mickey, a yorkie. The yorkie is named after Mickey Mantle."